Today I reached "Ruins East" portal (Crinti place) while I was with group of surfacers.
Two characters from the group couldn't attune to it.
My chararacter, who attuned to it long before, couldn't use it to port out of location. (Though I still can port to place)
Is it designed to be that way for surfacers, if it is, why?
Thanks in advance for answer.

Thanks for explanation and your vision on it Iceborn. If those Ruins are indeed ruins of some long gone Crinti city, makes sense that portal works similar to the one in Hub.
However, I'd like to hear official answer from DM team and maybe developers.
The character in question is not my first on surface and before, I think, I didn't have issue with that portal. Moreover, somehow I am attuned to it now, but it works only in one way.
Would be great if someone entirely clarify this matter.

When I reworked that area I put that portal in without the restriction. I think the restriction was added later on why your character is attuned to it since before that change; you can port to it but not interact with the portal itself.

No I meant when I made the area like 2 years ago I added the portal without restriction. I think sometime later the restriction was added, perhaps I added it because there was excessive surface farming there I dont really recall :/

EDIT: We have a big UD update coming out hopefully this week I am working on so I might remove the restriction as the new update will make it more difficult for surfacers to enter the UD from traditional means. So I think its okay to remove the restriction.

It would be good if restriction will be removed. Also, thanks for explanation.
Can you also lift the veil of secrecy? What changes will be made?

The distance from UD entry to a Hub/Andunor will be longer. Stonehold access is being removed, as well as its portal. Why it becomes slightly more difficult to get into the UD and a portal. Adding a Trading Post located a far bit away from Andunor, bunch of new areas and yeah more to be revealed for the update announcement.

No I meant when I made the area like 2 years ago I added the portal without restriction. I think sometime later the restriction was added, perhaps I added it because there was excessive surface farming there I dont really recall :/

EDIT: We have a big UD update coming out hopefully this week I am working on so I might remove the restriction as the new update will make it more difficult for surfacers to enter the UD from traditional means. So I think its okay to remove the restriction.

Before the surface race restriction, it was nearly impossible for a UD party to go to hit the crinti without running into a party of surfacers that were either signifigantly higher level(because they were going to fight the spirits) or just cycling the crinti by being in the city, going into the manor to fight the high priestess, waiting a couple minutes, and then walking around to kill the crinti again.

To say the surface farming was excessive would be an understatement. It was nearly constant. Several players advise going through the crinti, then wiping the spirits, killing the spider boss, then portalling back to the crinti ruins, which allows for a nearly perfect grind loop, which would see squads of surface PCs rungrinding through the zone.
While its less of an issue when UD groups move through there, it becomes a problem when the groups running through are hostile to the UD groups of actually level appropriate PCs that are taking the time to actually roleplay through the crinti. Especially problematic when said surface squad grindtrain(which is level appropriate to the spirits, and sometimes the expanded grind route that includes the anguillians) would attack the UD group that is level appropriate to the crinti to drive them out of the area so they can continue their cycling. This would happen most often late at night during the EST timezone.

I for one welcome the restriction, as it forces any group that would grind that loop to extend their route all the way to the outpost, which makes other grinding routes that don't track them through zones where lower level characters roam somewhat more attractive due to convenience.

EDIT: We have a big UD update coming out hopefully this week I am working on so I might remove the restriction as the new update will make it more difficult for surfacers to enter the UD from traditional means. So I think its okay to remove the restriction.

EDIT: We have a big UD update coming out hopefully this week I am working on so I might remove the restriction as the new update will make it more difficult for surfacers to enter the UD from traditional means. So I think its okay to remove the restriction.

Out of curiosity: Will the increase in difficulty go both ways?

Probably yes, though it will be somewhat easier for UDers to make their way to the surface due to easier access of portals.

Before the surface race restriction, it was nearly impossible for a UD party to go to hit the crinti without running into a party of surfacers that were either signifigantly higher level(because they were going to fight the spirits) or just cycling the crinti by being in the city, going into the manor to fight the high priestess, waiting a couple minutes, and then walking around to kill the crinti again.

To say the surface farming was excessive would be an understatement. It was nearly constant. Several players advise going through the crinti, then wiping the spirits, killing the spider boss, then portalling back to the crinti ruins, which allows for a nearly perfect grind loop, which would see squads of surface PCs rungrinding through the zone.
While its less of an issue when UD groups move through there, it becomes a problem when the groups running through are hostile to the UD groups of actually level appropriate PCs that are taking the time to actually roleplay through the crinti. Especially problematic when said surface squad grindtrain(which is level appropriate to the spirits, and sometimes the expanded grind route that includes the anguillians) would attack the UD group that is level appropriate to the crinti to drive them out of the area so they can continue their cycling. This would happen most often late at night during the EST timezone.

I for one welcome the restriction, as it forces any group that would grind that loop to extend their route all the way to the outpost, which makes other grinding routes that don't track them through zones where lower level characters roam somewhat more attractive due to convenience.

The real reason this sort of thing happens is because the UD dungeons are still vastly superior to surface dungeons in terms of experience, money, general ease of grinding and loop-ability.

Making it difficult to go from surface to UD and vice versa is a great idea, and I love it as long as it's not easier for one side or the other to move across the server boundry, but this happens because there's basically no dungeons worth the trouble on the surface north of level 18 or so.

Before the surface race restriction, it was nearly impossible for a UD party to go to hit the crinti without running into a party of surfacers that were either signifigantly higher level(because they were going to fight the spirits) or just cycling the crinti by being in the city, going into the manor to fight the high priestess, waiting a couple minutes, and then walking around to kill the crinti again.

To say the surface farming was excessive would be an understatement. It was nearly constant. Several players advise going through the crinti, then wiping the spirits, killing the spider boss, then portalling back to the crinti ruins, which allows for a nearly perfect grind loop, which would see squads of surface PCs rungrinding through the zone.
While its less of an issue when UD groups move through there, it becomes a problem when the groups running through are hostile to the UD groups of actually level appropriate PCs that are taking the time to actually roleplay through the crinti. Especially problematic when said surface squad grindtrain(which is level appropriate to the spirits, and sometimes the expanded grind route that includes the anguillians) would attack the UD group that is level appropriate to the crinti to drive them out of the area so they can continue their cycling. This would happen most often late at night during the EST timezone.

I for one welcome the restriction, as it forces any group that would grind that loop to extend their route all the way to the outpost, which makes other grinding routes that don't track them through zones where lower level characters roam somewhat more attractive due to convenience.

The real reason this sort of thing happens is because the UD dungeons are still vastly superior to surface dungeons in terms of experience, money, general ease of grinding and loop-ability.

Making it difficult to go from surface to UD and vice versa is a great idea, and I love it as long as it's not easier for one side or the other to move across the server boundry, but this happens because there's basically no dungeons worth the trouble on the surface north of level 18 or so.

there are many places for surface north of level 18 that dont include the UD, especialy with the updates in the last year

there are many places for surface north of level 18 that dont include the UD, especialy with the updates in the last year

Yeah? Like where? Avernus, I'll give you, is pretty solid. Kohlingen is okay if you have a really high AC tank. Blackfin is kind of short, but doable I guess. Beyond that, everywhere that comes to mind either isn't somewhere you can go without a large amount of preperation, or is entering the 12 EXP zone.

The Minmir area peters off around level 20-22 in my experience. Glorag Mur even earlier. Mourne is not at all comparable because you need an extremely good tank, and generally to have a high degree of Knowing What You're Doing for it to be worth doing, because the vampires/mages can kill you pretty easily. The only place in the Spires that's really good for EXP past level 20ish outside of Mourne is the Halls of Umbrick, which are firmly an UD area.

Minauros/Avernus, I'll grant you (as I mentioned in my first post) are pretty good up until 24ish, but that's one area. The Abyss is actually worthless for EXP. Too much of it is level 10-15 mobs right next to much tougher monsters; You either can't handle the higher level stuff, and thus have a decent chance of dying every time you transition because you landed at the feet of a Balor Lord, or you can handle it and spend about 70% of your time wading through 5-10 EXP chaff.

Sibayad's Desert, again, starts to peter off around level 20 or so, and has since the Orclands got nerfed over a year ago.

EDIT: We have a big UD update coming out hopefully this week I am working on so I might remove the restriction as the new update will make it more difficult for surfacers to enter the UD from traditional means. So I think its okay to remove the restriction.

Out of curiosity: Will the increase in difficulty go both ways?

Probably yes, though it will be somewhat easier for UDers to make their way to the surface due to easier access of portals.

I do like the idea of those changes, but what worries me personally is the upper portal in Stonehold. In my opinion, surface server suffer from a lack of two-way portals and I wouldn't want to see it removed. Just my two cents.

Mage Tower isn't two way, it's a one way... If it was a two way it likely get griefed hardcore.
I'm a liiittle uncomfortable right now too with how it seems the UD is a bit favored at the moment with this, since raiding has been a bit of a problem of late (With the UD, I'm not really sure if the surface raids the UD alot, sadly, since i never hear that, only the the UD is raiding some settlement every other day.) But I'm willing to accept it's just a bit of a mess at the moment as people re-arrange things portal wise, and it's not going to be all done in one go.

Mage Tower isn't two way, it's a one way... If it was a two way it likely get griefed hardcore.
I'm a liiittle uncomfortable right now too with how it seems the UD is a bit favored at the moment with this, since raiding has been a bit of a problem of late (With the UD, I'm not really sure if the surface raids the UD alot, sadly, since i never hear that, only the the UD is raiding some settlement every other day.) But I'm willing to accept it's just a bit of a mess at the moment as people re-arrange things portal wise, and it's not going to be all done in one go.

I think the UD would probably be having less hostile interaction and raiding of the surface if the surface didn't make a conscious effort to funnel all of its evil characters out of its settlements and into the UD(and its only settlement) in the first place. Find somewhere for team evil on the surface besides sencliff and It'll probably be less common.

Mage Tower isn't two way, it's a one way... If it was a two way it likely get griefed hardcore.

I'm a liiittle uncomfortable right now too with how it seems the UD is a bit favored at the moment with this, since raiding has been a bit of a problem of late (With the UD, I'm not really sure if the surface raids the UD alot, sadly, since i never hear that, only the the UD is raiding some settlement every other day.) But I'm willing to accept it's just a bit of a mess at the moment as people re-arrange things portal wise, and it's not going to be all done in one go.

1) Minmir also has a 2-way portal, though perhaps not as popular based on location as the Stonehold/Portal Chamber connection was.

2) There have been recent Surface UD raids. A few, in fact. Both the Outpost and Andunor were targets for recent, planned attacks against the Underdark presence - which may or may not be possibly connected to recent UD Surface raids. For more on that, dig around in-game.

Back on-topic though, there's another portal close to the Ruins (server location-wise) which isn't restricted to Underdark races/slave/outcasts only. Not a two-way portal, but a portal nonetheless.